A tin ear

And a thick skull:

American International Group Inc. spent $440,000 on a conference at a California resort less than a week after an $85 billion government takeover, lawmakers said.

The bill from the St. Regis resort in Monarch Beach included $23,380 for spa services, according to Representative Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Waxman led questioning Tuesday of former AIG Chief Executive Officers Martin Sullivan and Robert Willumstad as Congress probes events that led to federal intervention.

"Average Americans are suffering economically," Waxman, a California Democrat, said in his opening statement. "Yet less than one week after the taxpayers rescued AIG, company executives could be found wining and dining at one of the most exclusive resorts in the nation."

That's the TAXPAYERS' MONEY that you AIG guys are wasting with your unearned sense of entitlement. Americans own your company now, and we can dock your pay for this behavior.

Maybe we should fire your asses and sell your yachts so you can join the foreclosure crowd you helped create.

Update 10/9: Very interesting discussion about this 'perk' over at the Consumerist. (The comments are illuminating, be sure to note there are comments to the comments...)